Trump stops short of border emergency and omits infrastructure details in State of the Union

President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday night.

President Donald Trump vowed to build his proposed border wall but stopped short of declaring a national emergency in his State of the Union address on Tuesday, as he called for rejecting what he called the politics of “resistance.”

Speaking before a divided Congress, Trump hit on several themes, including the need to lower prescription drug costs; combat HIV; and protect American jobs when making trade deals.

But among the major takeaways from the speech was what Trump didn’t say.

Unlike last year, Trump didn’t put a dollar figure on his infrastructure plan. Speaking to lawmakers Tuesday night, the president said rebuilding roads and bridges is “not an option. This is a necessity.” But his lack of detail left some wondering about the chances for a bill.

“The president made a passing reference to the importance of infrastructure, but without giving any detail and then quickly moved on to health care,” Luke Tilley, chief economist at Wilmington Trust, told MarketWatch in an email. “If this is any indication of its relative importance on his agenda, then the prospects for any kind of significant legislation seems remote.”

Trump appeared both defensive and open to compromise in the speech, urging an end to “ridiculous partisan investigations” at one point, and at another, inspiring Democrats to chant “USA!” by discussing new jobs held by women.

Democrats reacted cautiously to Trump’s unity pledge.

“It’s hard to listen to a man with such a demonstrated inability to tell the truth — or even keep his word with members of either party — try to sell us on the idea that he’s now ready for bipartisanship and unity, that he’s poised to bring us together,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, in a statement.

But Whitehouse said he was “eager to help with childhood cancer, infrastructure, and lowered drug prices.”

Trump’s urging Congress to pass legislation intended to lower drug prices, meanwhile, made some on the right uncomfortable.

“America remains the leading engine for pharmaceutical investment and innovation and this cannot be sacrificed as part of health care reform,” said Patrick Hedger, director of policy for the conservative FreedomWorks Foundation. “The president and Congress should focus their efforts on continuing to reduce regulations on pharmaceutical companies and encourage competition in a free American marketplace.”

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